Daughters of Bangladesh

Ami, Amar Ma (Myself and My Mother) is a short-film documentary (15mins approx.) presenting the personal stories of 5 girls aged between 7 and 15, compiled over 4 days in March 2017. The girls wrote, directed and shot a short film based on their own life experiences, focusing on their relationship with their mother. Please watch the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldp2-a1DG2c&app=desktopLensational is an award-winning, non-profit social enterprise born in Hong Kong, with the mission of empowering women through photography and digital skills across the world. Ami, Amer Ma is Lensational’s first video journalism project featuring and created by the daughters themselves, in collaboration with Rainbow Collective, a documentary producer focused on human, children and social rights, to create a film as a part of an ongoing media training scheme at Nagorik Uddyog, offering children of garment workers a route into further education. This film advocates for female voices in journalism and seeks to influence consumers and corporations to commit to advancing the welfare of the most vulnerable workers and their families.

The Q&A panel discussion following the film will focus on the unheard voices of overlooked women in journalism and how to get these narratives into the public eye. The girls in the film are able to share their personal stories with the world on how garment factory work affects their lives indirectly, reflecting a variety of emotions and capturing moments of intimate visual stories. Our speakers, with a range of journalistic experiences will focus on how best to continue to empower women such as the girls in the film.

Confirmed panelists:

Tarannum Ali Nibir is a photographer and film maker with a keen focus on issues of social justice and the exploration of self.She was born and raised in Dhaka, Bangladesh. She has been involved in projects with Paraa in relation to vulnerable Urban children, pavement dwellers, documenting of craft artisans and is currently working in collaborative projects all over Bangladesh. Nibir holds a degree in Media and Mass Communication.She has been exploring film making , especially in relation to participatory methods.

Farhana Haider is an awarding winning British journalist of Bangladeshi origin. She has covered stories across the globe from Yemen to Uganda. As the BBC’s South Asia Editor, her tenure included the assassination of Benazir Bhutto and the civil war in Sri Lanka. She has reported extensively across for the BBC from Newsnight to Radio 4 and the World Service. She covered the Rana Plaza building collapse for BBC News, reporting from the scene, talking to factory workers and owners. Her documentary “The Forgotten Girls of Dhaka” was chosen as one of the BBC’s Big Stories of 2016. She is currently a Presenter/Reporter on the BBC’s award winning history programme “Witness” and is based in London.

Shelina Janmohamed is the author of Generation M: Young Muslims Changing the World (I.B.Tauris, 2016) and Love in a Headscarf(Aurum Press, 2014). An established commentator on Muslim social and religious trends, she has written for the Guardian, the National and the BBC. She is also vice president of Ogilvy Noor, the world’s first bespoke Islamic Branding practice.

Nomia Iqbal is a journalist and broadcaster with BBC News. She has traveled across South Asia, Africa and Europe specialising in politics, governance and youth issues.She hosts The Big Debate on BBC Asian Network which looks at topics affecting British Asians. She also presents the breakfast show on BBC World Service and works as a correspondent for domestic and international television. Nomia has also reported for BBC 5Live and BBC Radio 1.

Moderator:Bonnie Chiu is the Founder and CEO of award-winning non-profit social enterprise Lensational, which aims to empower marginalised women by equipping them with cameras and photography training. Since launching in 2013, the organisation – which has expanded to a team of 100 volunteers – has taught photography to 700 women across 17 developing countries; and has been featured by global news outlets including BBC News, Mashable and the Guardian. She has been selected as a Forbes 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneur in Europe.